The well-worn, late-season cliche pertaining to freshmen – that they aren’t freshmen any more – may be true, but for a trio of first-year Florida State players, Saturday’s trip to Florida carries the same excitement as a kid on Christmas morning.

Defensive tackle Jacobbi McDaniel and running back Lonnie Pryor were raised in Florida, so they have a real understanding of the rivalry between the programs. That, however, doesn’t mean cornerback/return specialist Greg Reid, from Valdosta, Ga., isn’t any less excited about making his first trip to The Swamp as a Seminole.

All three will play significant roles as the Seminoles try and end No. 1 Florida’s bid for a perfect season and a second consecutive national championship on its home turf.

“I’m real excited,” said Reid, who initially committed to the Gators. “Last year I went to almost all of their home games and I know how much fun it will be to play in The Swamp. I like all of the noise and everybody getting crunked with a good rivalry.”

McDaniel, who grew up in Madison, has memories of his last visit to Gainesville as a high school junior in 2007. It happened to be for the FSU game.

“Their fans really get into it,” McDaniel said. “When I left the game my ears were really hurting. To play in front of a big crowd like that is an experience.”

The annual, season-ending rivalry was very much a part of McDaniel’s youth growing up in Madison.

Florida State closed out Tuesday night’s 22-period practice inside Doak Campbell Stadium to the steady drone of piped in crowd noise, much like they did a few weeks back in preparation for a trip to Clemson.

The ear-piercing sound over the stadium P.A. won’t do Saturday’s scene at Florida justice when the host Gators try to close out a perfect regular season and carry their No. 1 ranking forward with a win over the Seminoles.

“We turned the noise up as loud as we can get it, because that’s the way it’s going to be there and communication is going to be difficult,” FSU coach Bobby Bowden said.

Getting acclimated to what will be a raucous environment isn’t the only obstacle standing between the Seminoles and their first win against a top-ranked opponent since knocking off Florida at home in 1996, but it’s a starting point in a week of preparation.

Offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher isn’t only concerned about freshman quarterback EJ Manuel comfortably getting in and out of the plays called from the sideline.

“We do that all of the time,” Fisher said. “It’s talking in the huddle and communicating and guys having to pay attention. It’s as much on the listeners as it is on the talkers. The line of scrimmage is not a big deal. That’s stuff you focus on all of the time. It’s just communication in the huddle and all of those things.”

Of course, it’s also being able to execute what is being called – against the nation’s top-rated defense.

Fisher wasn’t overly pleased with the performance in Tuesday’s practice, which he described as, “very average.”

Join Ryan Pensy, Brandon Mellor and Scott Kotick as they break down the top college football games in this free Seminoles.com podcast.

The crew previews Florida State at Florida and then previews some of the other crucial rivalry games on this Thanksgiving weekend.

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Rivalry Week Pt. 2

Seminoles get started on plan for trip to No. 1 Florida

Nov. 23, 2009

Over the course of the first 11 football games, Bobby Bowden’s Florida State team has developed a reputation for being competitively relentless. In fact, 10 of the games have been undecided into the fourth quarter; a testimony to the Seminoles’ will to win.

On the heels of Saturday’s bowl berth-clinching 29-26 win over Maryland, decided in the waning minute, the Seminoles have turned their attention to the toughest challenge to date – Saturday’s trip to No. 1 Florida.

While the odds appear stacked against the ‘Noles, Bowden has seen enough from his young charges to be encouraged, especially with the way they prevailed against the Terrapins.

“It was one of those ugly wins and I’ll take an ugly win any day over a beautiful loss like Georgia Tech, when you score 44 points and lose,” Bowden said. “That ain’t pretty to me at all. The win (against Maryland) was the big thing. The face that you had to come back twice in the fourth quarter is a good sign. … I think our kids learned a lot about themselves during that. They very obviously won’t give up. They won’t quit. They’ve fought every darn game.”

That fight has helped FSU win four of its last five games, since the aforementioned 49-44 loss to Georgia Tech and completely turned a season around. The ‘Noles go into Florida’s Ben Hill Griffin with everything to gain and enough confidence to believe they can compete.